1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing web-based data processing services to insurance agents and customer service representatives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing a web-based interface to an insurance data processing system to increase the functionality and ease of use in providing information about commercial-lines insurance policies to users, issuing commercial-lines insurance quotes and policies, modifying policies, etc. As referred to herein, commercial-lines insurance policies relate to insurance policies for commercial and/or business needs, as opposed to individuals' needs. Examples of commercial-lines insurance include, but are not limited to: business owners insurance policy (e.g., Travelers' MasterPac policy); automobile insurance coverage for a business auto fleet; workers compensation (WC) insurance; and umbrella insurance coverage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Insurance companies have traditionally used large, centralized data processing systems that run on mainframe computers. Because of the large amounts of data that must be handled and because of the criticality of the system, mainframes have provided an economical way to provide the necessary performance and reliability. As insurance companies become more competitive, it is imperative that insurance agents be provided an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface with which to view policy information, issue insurance quotes and policies, and so on.
Since many insurance agents have the ability to issue policies from more than one insurance company, it is often ease-of-use that makes the sale when prices are relatively similar. Additionally, insurance companies have invested significant resources into legacy mainframe applications. It would be very costly to completely rewrite mainframe applications for another computing environment.